Skills - News

Orbital Marine Power (Orbital), the renewable energy company focused on the development and global deployment of its pioneering floating tidal turbine technology, has reached a significant operational funding milestone. New investment secured from the Scottish National Investment Bank and individuals via the Abundance Investment platform will finance the ongoing operation of the O2, the company’s 2MW+ floating turbine. These debt facilities will be serviced by the long-term sale of electr...

Tokyo-based Classification Society – ClassNK has released the latest version 2.0.0 of ‘PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence’, a mobile app to assist the improvement of Port State Control (PSC) performance and ship management systems, provided free of charge. ‘PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence’ app Based on the database of PSC reports inputted by ship managers, ship owners and ClassNK, ‘PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence’ mobile app provides various functions, in order to help...

One of Orbital’s key objectives is reducing carbon emissions by harnessing an entirely untapped source of renewable energy. In doing so, the company aim to help restore oceans after what has been a disastrous decline in species and ocean health over the past two centuries. UK is fortunate that it has a well-established environmental licensing framework for the deployment of tidal turbines in the marine environment, which has led to extensive environmental characterisation and monitoring o...

The Board of Directors of Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Lars Kastrup as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIL, effective from 1 July, 2022. As the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pacific International Lines, Lars Kastrup is responsible for leading PIL’s continued growth and development, including its sustainability transformation path towards net zero carbon emissions. Industry veteran appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO)...

The Port of Valencia has welcomed the Iacobus Maris fleet, the sailing ships taking part in the longest maritime Xacobean route in history, which departed from the port of Genoa bound for Galicia. The President of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Aurelio Martinez, has held a meeting with the honorary consul of Italy, Adriano Carbone to coordinate the presence of the fleet that will remain in the Port of Valencia until Sunday. Lacobus Maris Route The Iacobus Maris Route commemorates the j...

The international marine specialist recruitment company - Marine Resources (Marine Resources Recruitment Ltd) have joined forces with the former President of the Chicago-based National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), Dr. Thomas Dammrich and the former Editor and Owner of International Boat Industry magazine - Nick Hopkinson. This partnership aims to offer businesses in the leisure marine industry assistance with identifying and recruiting key management personnel. Bespoke head-hunting...

The Normal Amsterdam Water Level (NAP) has been used as the basis for Vessel Traffic Services in the port of Rotterdam for approximately 200 years now. On 1 July, 2022, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will abandon the Normal Amsterdam Water Level (NAP) in shipping communication. Effective from July 1, 2022, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will use the Approximate Lowest Astronomical Tide (ALAT) as a reference for water depths and water levels in the admission policy. Internationally,...

Nor-Shipping 2023, which is scheduled to take place from June 6 to June 9, 2023, looks set to build on the success of Nor-Shipping 2022 event, with strong early sales and commitments from numerous national pavilions to return to the exhibiting fold. A total of 14 countries have so far secured dedicated pavilions to showcase local expertise, including Singapore and Japan at Nor-Shipping 2023 exhibition. In addition, individual organisations, such as Siemens, ABB, DNV (with two stands), NCE Marit...

The Seafarers’ Charity, a significant funder of maritime safety and welfare initiatives, is celebrating Maritime Safety Week (4-8 July) with the launch of a new safety drill competition and is calling on everyone who works at sea to get involved by practicing and improving their crew muster drill. If users are a Marvel at the essential muster drill on the boat, users can enter the competition by posting a photo or video of their best time for their Muster Drill on their social med...

In early June 2022, representatives of shipping companies and Customs authorities from across the globe came together, in order to discuss ways to step up the fight against drug trafficking. The Conference was organised by the World Shipping Council (WSC) and the Container Control Programme (CCP), which is a joint initiative between the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). UNODC 2021 World Drug Report According to the UNODC 2021 World Drug Report, aro...

It’s been another bumper month for long-term contracted ocean freight rates, as the cost of securing container shipments climbed by 10.1% in June 2022. Following on the heels of a record 30.1% hike in May 2022, this now means rates stand 169.8% higher than this time in 2021, with just two months of declines in the last 18 months. Despite a degree of macro-economic uncertainty clouding the horizon, all major trades saw prices moving up, with some corridors showing significant gains. Xenet...

On 29 June 2022, the ceremony for the naming and delivery of CULINES container newbuilding - CUL YANGPU & the signing of the strategic cooperation memorandum on Shipping Industry Fund was held at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding in Nansha, Guangzhou, China. Huiming Xiang (Chairman at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding), Kevin Ding (EVP at CULIES), Huiyu Wu (Part Committee Secretary & Chairman at Hainan Financial Holdings), and Jianmin Wang (Port & Shipping COO, Administration Committee of Y...

The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Provincial Council of Valencia have organised the first ‘Cruise Tourism’ training course, aimed at municipal technicians and tourism agents. A meeting point to expand the tourist offer, offered by the destination of Valencia for cruise passengers, with sustainable experiences in municipalities of the province, beyond the city of Valencia, and to work to deseasonalise cruise tourism that calls at the Port of Valencia, in Spain. From the p...

The Seafarers’ Charity is delighted to welcome five new trustees to the charity following the retirement of three trustees who stepped down at the end of their tenure at the charity’s Annual Meeting; two further trustees will retire at 2023’s Annual Meeting. Creative, collaborative, and evidence-based solutions The Seafarers’ Charity is governed by a strong General Council (trustee board) made up of trustees who both set the direction and ensure the charity meets...

Chris Cooper has been appointed President of Neste US, effective from 1 July 2022. In his new role, he is responsible for supporting and aligning regional business strategies to deliver strategic growth targets, and he acts as Neste’s primary representative for the external community in the US. At the moment, Chris Cooper is holding the position of Vice President of Americas of Neste Renewable Aviation. Accelerate renewable growth strategy “The US presents important opportunities...

It’s perhaps easy to take for granted that ships today can communicate rather easily with their shoreside offices. What is often overlooked, however, is the growing importance of being able to instantly share data between ship and shore and with all relevant stakeholders. The close integration of onboard operations and the shoreside offices is faster and easier than ever thanks to high-speed internet connections. It is also, at the same time, significantly more essential than it has been...

A new report published by Inmarsat, the pioneer in global, mobile satellite communications, indicates that seafarers are largely in favour of greater digitalisation but that a sizeable proportion of those working at sea also fear shrinking job opportunities. Compiled by maritime innovation consultancy Thetius, Seafarers in the Digital Age – Prioritising Human Element in Maritime Digital Transformation draws on the results of a survey of 200 maritime professionals. Basic internet connecti...

Maritime welfare charities are pulling together to publicise the support available to seafarers who have been made redundant, including ex P&O Ferries staff. The Maritime Charities Group Redundancy and Retraining Bursary provides help towards the cost of training to stay in maritime while The Seafarers’ Charity‘s UK Maritime Anchor Fund provides financial help, relationship counselling and mental health and wellbeing support. Taken together this package of measures is helping se...

Neste Corporation has made the final investment decision to invest into new renewable products production capacity in Rotterdam. The decision is based on demand for renewable products growing substantially with customers' higher climate ambitions. Neste’s current 1.4 million ton capacity for renewable products in Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. The Rotterdam refinery expansion investment of approximately EUR 1.9 billion will expand Neste’s overall renewable product capacity by 1...

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Eneco are going to install shore-based power facilities in the Waalhaven, so that Boskalis work boats moored there can run on green power instead of fossil fuels. A shore-based power installation will be built on the Boskalis site in the Waalhaven, Rotterdam. There are two berths on the quay at this location which are in frequent use. Vessels come to the Waalhaven service centre for maintenance and to be prepared for offshore projects. Reaching climate neutr...

The World Ocean Council will host a side event during the United Nations Ocean Conference on June 27-July 1 in Lisbon, Portugal. Building the Supply, Demand, Marketplace, and Monitoring for Ocean Carbon Sequestration takes place on 30 June, 1:45-2:45 pm | One Sustainable Ocean Pavilion, Ocean Stage. Ocean and coastal ecosystems are, by far, the largest carbon sinks on Earth — they offer the best nature-based solutions for enhanced gigaton-scale carbon sequestration. In order to realize th...

Seafarers are sharing their maritime voyages across social media to mark the Day of the Seafarer 2022.  The maritime world is changing, fast. Ships are now operating greener, with greater digitisation and with more diverse crews. As the lifeblood of the shipping industry, seafarers are at the heart of this evolution, implementing new regulations, learning new skills and adopting safer, more efficient working practices. As the world’s merchant fleet traverses the oceans, the crews onboard...

What should maritime stakeholders focus on in the coming years to accelerate maritime decarbonisation? At this week’s Getting to Zero Coalition Workshop, participating Coalition members collaborated on detailing out an action plan to make the full decarbonisation of shipping concrete and tangible. Participants focused on the combination and acceleration of four change levers: technology on land and on board, mobilising demand, financing, and policy. Accelerating shipping decarbonisation...

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and its subsidiary - Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV for their newly developed waste heat-derived LNG fuel supply system - Hi-eGAS (Hyundai High Efficient Gas Supply System) for 300K VLCC. Currently, LNG fuel propulsion ships have used boilers to make hot steam, which has converted LNG into a gas at room temperature, to supply a ship’s engine. However, this process has the disadvantag...

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. is delighted to announce the launch of its latest Far East-West Coast of Latin America service in July 2022. The new service will offer customers broader service coverage and ensure more reliable services in the FE-WCSA trade. The new SA8 service is jointly operated by Yang Ming, WAN HAI LINES LTD., and Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd (PIL). A fleet of eight 2,400-3,700 TEU vessels will be deployed on the weekly service, two of them are from Yang Ming. The f...

Globally renowned fleet optimisation provider and Lloyd’s Register subsidiary, i4 Insight, has joined forces with data collection pioneers, Danelec Marine (Danelec), to solve fleet performance challenges. This new industry partnership, which brings together specialists in data collection and data analysis, will mean customers can get a more cost-effective solution to vessel optimisation. i4 Insight - Danelec Marine partnership As the maritime sector deals with digital transformation and...

Ports of Stockholm is one of the world’s largest passenger ports and Stockholm is a very popular cruise destination. Now the possibilities for cruise ships to call at Stockholm have increased with the opening of a brand-new quay at Frihamnen Port. The new quay at Frihamnen Port in Stockholm opened on 21st June. The site was previously the location of the container terminal, which moved in 2020 to the newly built freight port, Stockholm Norvik Port. The move of the container terminal provi...

Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to introduce a new weekly direct service linking China and Korea with four key countries in South America - Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Chile. The new service, known as West Coast South America 6 (WS6), will commence on 13 July 2022 from Ningbo, China. West Coast South America 6 (WS6) West Coast South America 6 (WS6) aims to augment PIL’s existing two services - WS2 and WSA West Coast South America 6 (WS6) aims to augment PIL’s...

Nor Shipping has revealed that #PartnerShip will be the main theme of next year’s event - Nor-Shipping 2023, as it looks to enable, support and showcase ways of working together to achieve commercial goals. The week-long programme, Nor-Shipping 2023, running from June 6 to June 9, 2023, will now tailor its exhibition, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities, in order to nurture and strengthen collaboration across ocean businesses. Individual strength, collective gain The industry...

Blue Water’s Aid & Development Logistics team was contacted by a customer regarding the transport of a special shipment from Shanghai, China to the NGO Hope Walks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The transport faced challenges due to container shortages in Shanghai and fully booked vessels as a consequence of COVID-19. However, Blue Water succeeded in finding a container as well as booking space on the required vessel thus saving the transport. Medical supply delivery  The contact wit...